JP2714173B2 - INK STORAGE CONTAINER, INK STORAGE CONTAINER INTEGRATED INKJET HEAD, INK JET RECORDING APPARATUS HAVING THE SAME, AND METHOD OF FILLING POROUS MATERIAL WITH INK - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an ink tank, an ink jet head, and an ink jet recording apparatus having a configuration in which a porous body such as an ink absorber is housed in an ink housing container. and,
The present invention relates to a method for filling a porous body with ink. In particular, the present invention
The present invention relates to an invention that is effective for a recording head in which a recording head that discharges a recording liquid and a recording liquid storage unit that stores a recording liquid supplied to the recording head are integrated.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art In the related art, an inkjet head having a configuration in which an energy generation unit that forms a recording liquid droplet and an ink tank that supplies ink to the energy generation unit is integrated has been put to practical use. In general, an ink tank of this type of ink jet head has a structure in which a porous body compressed and stored is impregnated with ink.
The ink held in the porous body is drawn out of the ink tank from the ink supply port to the discharge unit 4 through the common liquid chamber by the capillary force of the nozzle corresponding to the ink consumption of the discharge unit.
Conventionally, an air communication port for opening a minute portion (about 3% of the area inside the tank) of the ink tank to the atmosphere is provided so that the porous body prevents negative pressure in the ink tank.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the conventional example, since the ink holding amount of the porous body is increased and the replacement frequency is reduced, the existing ratio of the porous body in the ink tank increases toward 100%. In other words, the amount of ink that can not be supplied for recording from the tank and remains is increased even though the amount of ink that is being filled is increasing. Was the current situation.

In view of such a situation, the inventors of the present invention provide a novel ink filling method for a porous body that distributes the ink holding state of the porous body and can significantly improve the remaining ink amount. Another object is to provide an ink container capable of supplying good ink without waste, supply of an ink jet head capable of performing good recording by using the ink container, and further, to achieve downsizing of a recording apparatus. It is.

Further, as a result of a study from a different viewpoint from the above-mentioned object, the present invention can significantly reduce the amount of remaining ink, can efficiently supply the amount of stored ink as a result, greatly reduce the size and increase the frequency of replacement. The second object is to be able to reduce the number.

Still other objects of the present invention will be understood from the following description.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In the present invention, after filling the ink into the ink container beyond the amount of ink that the porous body can hold by negative pressure, the porous body can hold ink by at least negative pressure. By aspirating and removing the ink in the ink container up to the amount, the ink in the porous body is maintained in a state where the ink in the ink discharge area is more distributed than the partial area on the air communication port side of the porous body. Since the ink filling method is characterized in that the stored ink can be reliably converted to the use state. Further, as a result of examining the flow resistance of ink in a region where the porous body is in close contact with the inner wall of the ink tank, a configuration contrary to the conventional technical trend, that is, considering the distribution of the ink flow resistance, the inner wall of the ink tank and The porous body in the ink tank has an inner wall that is at least 15% of the total inner area of the ink tank, as defined in claims 2 to 4, wherein the proportion of the space that communicates with the air is between the porous body and the porous body. In a non-contact state, the non-contact portion space formed thereby communicates with the atmosphere in advance, and in advance, the ink is supplied to the region where the ink supply port is arranged rather than the region near the non-contact portion of the porous body. Since the ink is kept in a state of being distributed in a large amount, ink flow resistance was reduced, stable ink supply was achieved, and stable recording was achieved in the head.

In each of the fifth to ninth aspects of the present invention, each of the configurations has the effect of reducing the size of the configuration or further stabilizing the ink supply state and eliminating waste of the remaining amount of ink. Excellent configuration can be provided.

〔Example〕

2 to 6 show a preferred ink jet unit JU, ink jet head IJH, ink tank IT, and ink jet cartridge I to which the present invention is applied or applied.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining each of a JC, an inkjet recording apparatus main body IJRA, and a carriage HC, and a relationship between each; Hereinafter, the configuration of each unit will be described with reference to these drawings.

As can be seen from the perspective view of FIG. 3, the ink jet cartridge IJC in this example has a large ink storage ratio, and is slightly smaller than the front face of the ink tank IT. The tip has a protruding shape. The ink cartridge IJC is fixedly supported by positioning means and electrical contacts of a cartridge HC (FIG. 5) mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus main body IJRA, and is attached to and detached from the cartridge HC. It is a possible disposable type. FIGS. 2 to 6 show configurations to which a number of new technologies achieved in the stage of establishment of the present invention are applied. I will do it.

(I) Description of the structure of the ink jet unit IJU The ink jet unit IJU is a unit of the bubble jet system that performs recording using an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy for causing film boiling in ink in response to an electric signal. is there.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 100 denotes a structure in which a plurality of electrothermal transducers (discharge heaters) arranged on a Si substrate and electric wires such as Al for supplying power thereto are formed by a film forming technique. It is a heater board. Reference numeral 200 denotes a wiring board for the heater board 100, a wiring corresponding to the wiring of the heater board 100 (for example, connected by wire bonding), and a pad 201 located at an end of the wiring and receiving an electric signal from the main unit. have.

1300 is a grooved top plate provided with a partition for dividing a plurality of ink flow paths, a common liquid chamber for storing ink for supplying ink to each ink flow path, and the like.
And an orifice plate 400 having a plurality of ejection ports corresponding to each ink flow path. Polysulfone is preferred as these integral molding materials, but other molding resin materials may be used.

Reference numeral 300 denotes a support made of, for example, metal which supports the back surface of the wiring board 200 in a plane, and serves as a bottom plate of the ink jet unit.
Reference numeral 500 denotes a presser spring, which is M-shaped and presses the common liquid chamber with a light pressure at the center of the M-shape, and concentrates a part of the liquid path, preferably an area near the discharge port, with a linear pressure at the front drooping part 501. Press. By pressing the heater board 100 and the top plate 1300 with the foot portions of the holding springs passing through the holes 3121 of the support body 300 and engaging with the back surface side of the support body 300, the two are engaged with each other in a state where they are sandwiched. The heater board 100 and the top plate 1300 are pressed and fixed by the concentrated biasing force of the spring 500 and the front drooping portion 501. Further, the support 300 is provided with two positioning protrusions 1012 of the ink tank IT and positioning and heat fusion holding protrusions 1800, 1801.
In addition to the positioning holes 312, 1900, and 2000, the positioning protrusions 25 for the carriage HC of the apparatus main body IJRA are provided.
00,2600 on the back side. In addition, the support 300 is provided with an ink supply pipe 22 for supplying ink from the ink tank.
It also has a hole 320 that allows 00 (described below) to penetrate. The attachment of the wiring board 200 to the support 300 is performed by sticking with an adhesive or the like. The recesses 2400, 2400 of the support 300 are provided in the vicinity of the positioning projections 2500, 2600, respectively. In the assembled ink cartridge IJC (FIG. 3), three peripheral sides are parallel grooves. It is located at an extension point of the head tip region formed by a plurality of 3000, 3001 so that unnecessary substances such as dust and ink do not reach the projections 2500, 2600. This parallel groove 3000 is formed. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the lid member 800 forms the outer wall of the ink cartridge IJC and forms a space for accommodating the ink jet unit IJU with the ink tank. Further, the ink supply member 600 having the parallel bar 3001 formed therein has an ink conduit 1600 continuous with the above-described ink supply tube 2200 formed as a cantilever with the supply tube 2200 side fixed, and the ink supply member with the fixed side of the ink conduit. tube
A sealing pin 602 for ensuring a capillary phenomenon with 2200 is inserted. Reference numeral 601 denotes a packing for sealing the ink tank IT and the supply pipe 2200, and 700 denotes a filter provided at the tank side end of the supply pipe.

Since the ink supply member 600 is molded, it is not only inexpensive, has high positional accuracy, and does not eliminate the deterioration in manufacturing accuracy, but also cantilever the conduit 1600 during mass production by the cantilever conduit 1600. Ink port 1500
Can be stabilized. In this example, a more complete communication state can be reliably obtained only by pouring the sealing adhesive from the ink supply member side under the pressure contact state. The fixing of the ink supply member 600 to the support 300 is performed by fixing the ink supply member 60 to the holes 1901 and 1902 of the support 300.
This can be easily performed by making a back side pin (not shown) of No. 0 penetrate and project through the holes 1901 and 1902 of the support body 300 and heat-fusing a portion of the support body 300 protruding to the back side. The slightly protruding area of the heat-sealed rear part is the ink tank IT
Since the ink jet unit IJU is housed in a recess (not shown) on the side wall surface of the ink jet unit IJU, the positioning surface of the unit IJU can be accurately obtained.

(Ii) Ink tank IT configuration description The ink tank is sealed after inserting the cartridge body 1000, the ink absorber 900, and the ink absorber 900 from the side of the cartridge body 1000 opposite to the unit IJU mounting surface. And a lid member 1100 for stopping.

Reference numeral 900 denotes an absorber for impregnating the ink, which is arranged in the cartridge body 1000. 1200 is the above parts 100
A supply port for supplying ink to a unit IJU consisting of ~ 600, and by injecting ink from the supply port 1200 in a step before the unit is arranged in the portion 1010 of the cartridge body 1000, the absorber 900 It is also an inlet for impregnating the ink.

In this example, the portions that can supply ink are the air communication port and this supply port, but the rib 2300 in the main body 1000 and the lid member for performing good ink supply from the ink absorber.
Since the air presence region in the tank formed by the partial ribs 2500 and 2400 of 1100 is continuously formed from the atmosphere communication port 1401 side and formed over the corner area farthest from the ink supply port 1200, It is important that ink is supplied to the absorber relatively well and uniformly from the supply port 1200 side. This method is extremely effective in practice. The rib 1000 has four ribs parallel to the carriage moving direction on the rear surface of the main body 1000 of the ink tank to prevent the absorber from sticking to the rear surface.
Also, the partial ribs 2400, 2500 are similarly provided on the inner surface of the lid member 1100 which is on the extension corresponding to the rib 1000, but unlike the rib 1000, they are in a divided state and the presence of air The space is larger than the former. In addition, partial rib
2500 and 2400 are distributed on a surface that is less than half of the total area of the cover member 1000. With these ribs, the ink in the corner area farthest from the tank supply port 1200 of the ink absorber could be more stably guided to the supply port 1200 side by capillary force. Reference numeral 1401 denotes an atmosphere communication port provided in the lid member for communicating the inside of the cartridge with the atmosphere. 1400
Is a liquid-repellent material disposed inside the air communication port 1401, thereby preventing ink from leaking from the air communication port 1400.

The above-described arrangement of the ribs is particularly effective because the ink storage space of the above-described ink tank IT has a rectangular shape and has long sides on the side surfaces, but has a long side in the moving direction of the carriage. Case or cube, cover member 11
By providing a rib on the whole of 00, the ink absorber
Ink supply from 900 can be stabilized. A rectangular parallelepiped shape is suitable for storing ink in a limited space as much as possible, but in order to use this stored ink for recording without waste, as described above, It is important to provide a rib capable of performing the above-mentioned operation in the two surface regions which are close to each other. Further, the inner ribs of the ink tank IT in this embodiment are arranged with a substantially uniform distribution in the thickness direction of the rectangular parallelepiped ink absorber. This configuration is important because it can make the atmospheric pressure distribution uniform and almost eliminate the remaining amount of ink with respect to the ink consumption of the entire absorber. Further, if the technical idea on the arrangement of the ribs is described in detail, the position where the ink supply port 1200 of the ink tank is projected on the upper surface of the rectangular parallelepiped is centered.
When an arc having a long side as a radius is drawn, the rib is arranged on a surface outside the arc so that an atmospheric pressure state is given to the absorber located outside the arc at an early stage. It is important to: In this case, the atmosphere communication port of the tank is not limited to this example as long as the atmosphere can be introduced into the rib arrangement area.

In addition, in this embodiment, the ink jet cartridge
Flattening the rear surface of the IJC head minimizes the space required when assembled into the device, and minimizes the size of the device by adopting a configuration that maximizes the ink capacity. Not only that, it has an excellent configuration that can reduce the frequency of cartridge replacement. Then, using the rear part of the space for integrating the ink jet unit IJU, there is an air communication port 14 there.
A projecting portion for 01 is formed, and the inside of the projecting portion is hollowed out to form an atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 for the entire thickness of the absorber 900 described above. With such a configuration, an excellent cartridge not seen in the past can be provided. Note that the atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 is a space much larger than the conventional one, and since the air communication port 1401 is located above, even if the ink comes off the absorber due to some abnormality, this atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 does not need to be large. The air pressure supply space 1402 can temporarily hold the ink and can reliably collect the ink in the absorber, so that an excellent cartridge without waste can be provided.

The structure of the mounting surface of the unit IJU of the ink tank IT is shown in FIG. Orifice plate 40
Through approximately the center of the spout of 0, when a straight line parallel to the mounting reference plane of the surface of the bottom or carriage of the tank IT and L _1, 2 two positioning protrusion which engages the hole 312 of the support 300
1012 are on the straight line L _1. The height of the protrusion 1012 is slightly lower than the thickness of the support 300, and the support 300 is positioned. Nail engagement surface 4002 to engage the 90 ° angle of the positioning hook 4001 of the carriage is on the extension of the straight line L ₁ on this drawing
2100 are positioned, the acting force of the positioning relative to the carriage is configured to act in a plane parallel area to the reference surface including the straight line L _1. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 5, these relationships are effective because the positioning accuracy of only the ink tank is equivalent to the positioning accuracy of the head ejection port.

Also, fixing holes 1900,
The protrusions 1800 and 1801 of the ink tank corresponding to 2000 are longer than the protrusions 1012 described above, and are used for fixing the support 300 to the side surface by heat-fusing the portion protruding through the support 300. It is. When a straight line passing through the projection 1800 is perpendicular to the line L ₁ of the above L _3, a straight line passing through the projection 1801 and L _2, a straight line
Since on L ₃ is substantially the center of the supply opening 1200 is located, and the effect of stabilizing the state of bonding between the supply pipe 2200 and a mouth 1200 of the supply unit, a load of even by dropping or impact to these coupling state This is a preferable configuration because it is possible to reduce the amount of light. Also, the straight lines L ₂ and L
₃ does not match, and there are protrusions 1800 and 1801 around the protrusion 1012 on the discharge port side of the head IJH.
This has the effect of reinforcing the positioning with respect to the tank.
Incidentally, the curve indicated by L ₄ represents a outer wall position when mounting of the ink supply member 600. Since the projections 1800 and 1801 are along the curve L _4, which give the position accuracy and sufficient strength against the weight of the distal configuration of the head IJH. Reference numeral 2700 denotes a tip of the ink tank IT, which is inserted into a hole of the front plate 4000 of the carriage and provided for an abnormal time when the displacement of the ink tank becomes extremely bad. Reference numeral 2101 denotes a retainer for the carriage, which is provided for a bar (not shown) of the carriage HC.The cartridge IJC enters below the bar at a position where the cartridge IJC is pivotally mounted as described later, and is unnecessarily detached from the positioning position. This is a protection member for maintaining the mounted state even when a force acts in the upward direction.

After the ink tank IT is installed with the unit IJU, the lid 8
By covering with the 00, the unit IJU is surrounded except for the lower opening, but as the inkjet cartridge IJC, the lower opening for mounting on the carriage HC is close to the carriage HC, so it is substantially A four-sided surrounding space is formed. Therefore, the head IJH in this enclosed space
Although the heat generated from this is effective as a heat retaining space in this space, the temperature rises slightly for long-term continuous use. For this reason, in this example, a slit 1700 with a width smaller than this space is provided on the upper surface of the cartridge IJC to help the heat dissipation of the support, and the temperature distribution of the entire unit IJU is uniform while preventing the temperature rise. Was made independent of the environment.

When assembled as an ink cartridge IJC, the ink is supplied from the inside of the cartridge to the supply port 1200 and the support.
It is supplied into the supply port tank 600 through the hole 320 provided in the 300 and the introduction port provided on the inside and back side of the supply tank 600, passes through the inside, and then the appropriate supply pipe and top plate from the outlet port
It flows into the common liquid chamber through 400 ink inlets 1500. A packing made of, for example, silicon rubber or butyl rubber is provided at the connection portion for ink communication described above, whereby sealing is performed to secure an ink supply path.

In this example, the top plate 1300 is made of a resin such as polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyphenylene oxide, or polypropylene having excellent ink resistance,
Together with the orifice plate part 400, they are integrally molded in a mold.

As described above, the integrally molded component is an ink supply member 600,
Top plate and orifice plate integrated, ink tank body 1000
As a result, not only the assembling accuracy becomes high, but also it is extremely effective in improving the quality of mass production. Also, since the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional case, excellent desired characteristics can be surely exhibited.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the ink supply member 600 has the upper surface 603 of the slit 17 of the ink tank IT in the assembled shape.
3, a slit S is formed as shown in FIG.
Head side end 401 of the thin plate member to which the lower lid 800 is bonded
Slit similar to slit S above (not shown)
Is formed. The slits between the ink tank IT and the ink supply member 600 substantially perform the function of further promoting the heat radiation of the slit 1700, and
Even if there is unnecessary pressure applied to IT, it is supplied directly to
In other words, it prevents the effect on the inkjet unit IJT.

In any case, the above-described configuration of the present embodiment is a configuration that has not existed in the past, and each has an effective effect alone, and also has an organic configuration due to the complex requirements of each component. ing.

(Iii) Attaching explanation of ink cartridge IJC to carriage HC In FIG. 5, reference numeral 5000 denotes a platen roller, which guides the recording medium P upward from below the sheet. The carriage H moves along the platen roller 3000. The front plate 4000 (2 mm thick) located on the front side of the ink cartridge IJC and the pad of the wiring board 200 of the cartridge IJC are provided on the front platen side of the carriage. Pad 2011 corresponding to 201
Sheet having a flexible pad 4005 and a rubber pad sheet 4007 for generating an elastic force for pressing the pad against each pad 2011 from the back side thereof.
4003 and a positioning hook 4001 for fixing the ink cartridge IJC to the recording position. The front plate 4000 has two positioning projections 4010 corresponding to the positioning projections 2500 and 2600 of the cartridge support 300, respectively.
Receive a vertical force towards. For this reason, the reinforcing rib has a plurality of ribs (not shown) on the platen roller side of the front plate that are oriented in the direction of the vertical force. The ribs are slightly (approximately than the front position L ₅ of Katoritsuji IJC when mounted
(Approximately 0.1 mm) A head protection projection protruding toward the platen roller is also formed. Support plate for electrical connection 4003
Has a plurality of reinforcing ribs 4004 not in the direction of the ribs but in the vertical direction, and the proportion of protrusion from the platen side toward the hook 4001 side is reduced. This also serves the function of tilting the position when the cartridge is mounted as shown in the figure. Further, in order to stabilize the electrical contact state, the support plate 4003 is provided with a positioning surface 4006 on the hook side for exerting an acting force on the cartridge in a direction opposite to the acting direction of the two positioning projecting surfaces 4010 on the cartridge. The protruding surface 4010
Rubber sheet with a boss corresponding to pad 2011 and having pad contact areas between them
Uniquely defines the amount of deformation of the button of 4007. When these positioning surfaces are fixed at positions where the cartridge IJC can record, they come into contact with the surface of the wiring board 300.
In this example, the pad 201 of the wiring board 300 is
Since then distributed to be symmetrical with respect to L _1, and equalize the amount of deformation of each Botsuchi of the rubber sheet 4007 pads 201
The contact pressure of 1,201 is more stabilized. Pad 201 in this example
Are two rows above and two rows below and two rows vertically.

The hook 4001 has a long hole that engages with the fixed shaft 4009, and after rotating counterclockwise from the position shown in the drawing using the moving space of the long hole, moves leftward along the platen roller 5000. By moving, the inkjet cartridge IJC is positioned with respect to the carriage HC. Although the hook 4001 can be moved in any manner, a configuration in which the hook 4001 can be moved by a lever or the like is preferable. In any case, when the hook 4001 rotates, the cartridge IJC moves to the platen roller side while the positioning projections 2500 and 2600 move to positions where the positioning protrusions 2500 and 2600 can contact the positioning surface 4010 of the front plate, and the hook 4001 moves to the left. The 90 ° hook surface 4002 is brought into close contact with the 90 ° surface of the cartridge IJC claw 2100 while rotating the cartridge IJC in the horizontal plane around the contact area between the positioning surfaces 2500 and 4010 and finally the pads 201 and 20.
Contact of 11 comrades begins. And hook 4001 is in the predetermined position,
That is, when held at the fixed position, the pads 201 and 2011 have a complete contact state, the positioning surfaces 2500 and 4010 have a complete contact, the 90-degree surface 4002 and the 90-degree surface of the claw have two contact surfaces, and 30
0 and surface contact with the positioning surface 4006 are simultaneously formed, and the holding of the cartridge IJC with respect to the carriage is completed.

(Iv) Schematic description of apparatus main body FIG. 6 shows an ink jet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
In the outline view of IJRA, the carriage HC that engages with the spiral groove 5004 of the lead screw 5005 that rotates via the driving force transmission gears 50111 and 5009 in conjunction with the forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013
Has a pin (not shown) and is reciprocated in the directions of arrows a and b. Reference numeral 5002 denotes a paper pressing plate, which presses the paper against the platen 5000 in the carriage movement direction. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote home position detecting means for confirming the presence of the carriage lever 5006 in this region by photocouplers and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. Reference numeral 5016 denotes a member for supporting a cap member 5022 for capping the front surface of the recording head. Reference numeral 5015 denotes suction means for sucking the inside of the cap, and recovering the suction of the recording head through the opening 5023 in the cap. 50
Numeral 17 denotes a cleaning blade, and numeral 5019 denotes a member which enables the blade to move in the front-rear direction. These members are supported by a main body support plate 5018. It goes without saying that the blade is not limited to this form, and a well-known cleaning blade can be applied to this embodiment. Reference numeral 5012 denotes a lever for starting suction for recovery of suction, which moves with the movement of the cam 5020 that engages with the carriage, and controls the movement of the drive force from the drive motor by a known transmission means such as clutch switching. Is done.

These capping, cleaning and suction recovery
When the carriage comes to the home position side area, it is configured so that the desired processing can be performed at the corresponding position by the action of the lead screw 5005, but if the desired operation is performed at a known timing, Either can be applied to this example. Each of the configurations described above is an excellent invention when viewed alone or in combination, and shows preferred configuration examples for the present invention.

In order to describe in detail the present invention which is technically related to the above-mentioned FIGS. 2 to 6, the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(Embodiment of Filling Method) FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid jet recording head. This makes it possible to completely spread the ink to the porous member 902. Next, with the supply port closed, the extraction port 1401 is opened, and excess ink having a predetermined amount of recording liquid injected is extracted from the extraction port. As a result, the ink on the supply port side remains within a range that can be held by the porous member, and
The ink on the side is drawn out prior to the supply port side.
This area is illustrated as an area 901. According to this,
It is possible to create a state where the ink is mainly distributed on the supply port side.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the liquid jet recording head. The distance between the supply port 1200 and the extraction port 1401 is set as close as possible to the maximum dimension of the liquid jet recording head. According to the results of experiments conducted by the inventor, it is desirable that the relationship of (l ₁ / l ₂ ) ≧ 0.7 is satisfied. As a result, a state in which the ink on the supply port side is distributed more on the supply port side without being extracted can be created, and the amount of ink that can be supplied to the recording head chip increases. In the above configuration, when extracting excess ink from the ink tank, the ink was extracted from the extraction port side.However, after the extraction port was opened to standby and the recording head chip was coupled to the ink tank, it was also possible to extract from the sweep port. It has been found that the distribution state of the ink in the porous member can be substantially the same as the above distribution.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the ratio of the ink material that can be supplied to the injected ink material to about 80% or more by distributing the recording liquid mainly to the supply port side. It is possible to increase the number of printed sheets in the liquid jet recording head having the outer dimensions.

Further, under the condition of the same number of printed sheets, it is possible to make the liquid jet recording head compact.

FIGS. 2 to 10 show another embodiment of the formation of the air communication space which exhibits an effective effect in addition to the ink retention distribution of the porous body made according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration in which ribs 30 are provided radially on the upper surface of the ink tank by air communication. This configuration can adjust the proportion of air present in the central region and the side region of the large-sized absorber. one of. FIG. 9 shows a columnar projection, and FIG. 10 shows a contact area obtained by connecting a U-shaped part to the inner wall of the tank as shown in the figure.

In FIG. 7, in the case of (a), in the case of the absorber having a very small air communication state, the air communication region is formed after the start of use of the route that forms the shortest distance toward the ink supply pipe 2200 to the head. It can be understood that the ink held by the absorber remains without being supplied.
(B) and (c) are explanatory views of the case where the formation surface of the air communication region of the present invention is developed. As in the above-described embodiment, first, the rear part of the space for integrating the ink jet into the ink container. When a projecting portion for an atmosphere communication port is formed there, and the inside of the projecting portion is hollowed out to form an atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 for the entire thickness of the porous body, (a) In comparison with the above, the atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 with respect to the entire thickness of the porous body can make the ink supply in the thickness direction uniform, thereby exhibiting an overall excellent partial effect. In addition, the atmospheric pressure supply space 20 formed on the rear surface with respect to the head 4 disperses the above route and extends to the opposite corner of the supply region. It can be understood that the road to the supply possible state is greatly opened. In addition, when the area 21 outside the area having the radius of the shortest distance r between the supply area and the area in the air communication state on the opposite surface of the air communication port is in the air communication state, the route 22 can be further formed. Therefore, it can be understood that the ink absorbed in the porous body 2 can be supplied to the head 4 stably and reliably. Especially in (c),
Since the supply region and the region in the atmosphere communication state are arranged to face each other, the regions outside the shortest distance r are the sides 211 and 222, and thus the effect of the present invention can be obtained by setting these regions to the air communication state. Can be further improved.

FIG. 11 shows the ejection characteristics in such a case. Conventionally, as shown in the figure, when the open area is 3% of the entire ink tank, the response frequency is reduced. Due to the decrease in the response frequency, the discharge amount becomes extremely small (FIG. 11 upper figure), and the print quality deteriorates. Further, in the case of a high duty, the ejection cannot be followed, and a non-ejection may occur. However, by increasing the open area of the absorber to the atmosphere, the flow of ink in the absorber becomes easier, as shown in the figure.
% Or more does not affect the ejection. 15% like this
Since the formation of the above-described air communication region does not depend on the position of the surface in the ink tank to be formed, the above-described structure is provided on the side surface, the upper surface, and the bottom surface of the ink tank which communicates with the air communication port, and May be secured. Of course, the configuration described in FIGS.
It is more preferable to form the air communication region of 15% or more.

The present invention provides an excellent effect particularly in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a bubble jet method among the ink jet recording methods.

Regarding the representative configuration and principle, it is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740,796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it is arranged corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path holding the liquid (ink). By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recording information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling to the electrothermal transducer, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and the recording head is driven. This is effective because the film can be boiled on the heat acting surface, so that bubbles in the liquid (ink) can be formed one by one corresponding to the drive signal. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,434,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the invention relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As a configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination configuration (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) of a discharge port, a liquid path, and an electrothermal converter as disclosed in each of the above-mentioned specifications, a heat acting section A configuration using U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600, which disclose a configuration in which the is bent, is also included in the present invention. In addition, JP-A-59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters.
The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 138461/1984, which discloses a configuration in which an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy corresponds to a discharge portion.

Further, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length can be reduced by a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above specification. Either a configuration that satisfies the above or a configuration as a single recording head that is integrally formed may be used, but the present invention can more effectively exert the above-described effects.

In addition, a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body and supplied with ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body, or provided integrally with the recording head itself The present invention is also effective when a cartridge type recording head is used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the printhead, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like, which are provided as components of the printing apparatus of the present invention, since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. To be more specific, a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressure or suction unit, a preheating unit using an electrothermal converter, another heating element, or a combination thereof, for the recording head. Performing a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing is also effective for performing stable printing.

Further, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to the printing mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be a printing head integrally formed or a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is extremely effective for an apparatus having at least one of the full colors.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, after filling the ink into the ink container beyond the amount of ink that the porous body can hold due to the negative pressure,
By aspirating and removing the ink in the ink container to at least the amount by which the porous body can hold the ink due to the negative pressure, the ink in the porous body can be discharged from the ink discharge area more than the part of the porous body closer to the air communication port. According to the ink filling method characterized in that the ink is kept in a state of being distributed in a large amount, the use efficiency of the ink and the recording liquid, which is superior to the conventional one, is improved, and as a result, the size of the container can be reduced. Can be achieved. Similarly, in the invention in which the present invention is applied to a cartridge or a recording apparatus, similarly, stable recording and miniaturization can be simultaneously satisfied.

In addition to the above effects, according to the invention in which 15% or more of the ink tank inner surface area is opened to the atmosphere, good ejection characteristics can be obtained without a decrease in response frequency, and good printing can be performed.

Further, on the inner wall surface of the ink container corresponding to the corner of the porous body farthest from the area where the ink supply port is arranged, a space can be formed in which the porous body communicates with the atmosphere with respect to this inner wall surface. According to the invention having the member, the ink can be consumed without waste, so that downsizing can be achieved. Other effects of the present invention can be understood from the above description.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is an explanatory view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a cartridge of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of mounting the cartridge IJC to the apparatus, FIG. 6 is an external view of the apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of ink flow, and FIGS. 8 to 10 are other embodiments of the present invention. 11 (a) and (b) are discharge characteristic diagrams, and FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a further configuration of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ink tank 2 ... Absorber (porous body) 3 ... Supply port 4 ... Discharge part 5 ... Atmospheric communication port 6 ... Electric contact part

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Akio Saito 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Nakagome 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inside (72) Inventor Teruo Arashima 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Makiko Kimura 3-30-2, Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. ( 72) Inventor Hiroshi Sugitani 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Norifumi Hattori 3-30-2 Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Invention Person Masami Ikeda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Asao Saito 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Kazuaki Masuda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Tsuyoshi Orikasa 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Stocks In company

Claims (11)

(57) [Claims] An ink container having an air communication port and an ink discharge section for supplying ink to the outside of the ink container at different positions, and the porous member is connected to an ink container containing a porous member holding ink. After filling the ink container with ink exceeding the amount of ink that can be held by the pressure, the ink is sucked and removed from the ink container by the porous body at least to an amount that can hold the ink by the negative pressure. In the ink filling method, the ink in the porous body is maintained in a state in which the ink in the ink discharge area is more distributed than the partial area on the air communication port side of the porous body by the ink suction and removal step. An ink filling method, characterized in that: 2. An ink container having an air communication port and an ink discharge section for supplying ink to the outside of the container at different positions, wherein a porous body for storing ink is stored in the container. In the method of filling an ink container with ink, the ink container is such that the porous body is not in contact with an inner wall of 15% or more of the entire inner area of the ink container, and a non-contact portion formed by the porous body is provided. The space is in a state communicating with the atmosphere, and after filling the ink container with ink exceeding the amount of ink that can be held by the porous body by negative pressure, the ink container is filled with the ink. By sucking and removing the ink in the ink container at least to the extent that the ink can be held by the negative pressure, the ink in the porous body is made to be more ink than the air communication port side partial area of the porous body. The ink filling method wherein the ink area output is what is held in a number distribution state. 3. An ink storage container having an air communication port and an ink supply port for supplying ink to an ink jet head at different positions, and an ink container filled with a porous body for storing ink. An ink jet head formed in a body shape, comprising an ejection unit for ejecting ink by ejection energy generation means provided in a liquid passage, and receiving a predetermined electric signal and operating the ejection energy generation means. The porous body in the ink container is not in contact with the inner wall of 15% or more of the entire inner area of the ink container, and the ink supply port is arranged more than the area near the non-contact portion of the porous body. An ink jet head characterized in that a large amount of ink is held in a region where the ink is distributed. 4. An ink container having an air communication port and an ink supply port for supplying ink to an ink jet head at different positions, wherein the ink container is filled with a porous body for storing ink. An ink-jet recording apparatus for performing recording by providing an ink-jet head having a discharge unit for discharging ink by a discharge energy generating means provided in a liquid path using ink supplied from a storage container; A carriage for mounting the ink jet head on a side of the ink container to reciprocate the container and the ink jet head; and a means for supplying an electric signal to the ejection energy generating means; If the porous body in the container is not in contact with the inner wall of 15% or more of the total The ink is distributed more in the area where the ink supply port is arranged than in the area near the non-contact part of the body, and the non-contact part space formed thereby communicates with the atmosphere. An ink jet recording apparatus for supplying ink in a state where the ink is supplied. 5. An ink storage container having an air communication port and an ink supply port for supplying ink to an ink jet head at different positions, and one for an ink container filled with a porous body for storing ink. An ink jet head formed in a body shape, comprising an ejection unit for ejecting ink by ejection energy generation means provided in a liquid passage, and receiving a predetermined electric signal and operating the ejection energy generation means. The porous body in the ink storage container is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped,
On the inner wall surface of the ink container corresponding to the corner of the porous body farthest from the area where the ink supply port is arranged, a space can be formed in which the porous body communicates with the atmosphere with respect to the inner wall surface. An ink-jet head comprising a member, wherein a larger amount of ink is held in a region where the ink supply port is arranged than in a region near a space communicating with the atmosphere. 6. An ink container having an air communication port and an ink supply port for supplying ink to an ink jet head at different positions, wherein the ink container is filled with a porous material for storing ink. An ink-jet recording apparatus for performing recording by providing an ink-jet head having a discharge unit for discharging ink by a discharge energy generating means provided in a liquid path using ink supplied from a storage container; A carriage for mounting the ink jet head on the side of the ink container for reciprocating the container and the ink jet head, and a means for supplying an electric signal to the discharge energy generating means; The ink supply port is located on the side and is not in contact with the inner wall of the ink container; The non-contact portion space thus formed and communicating with the atmosphere has three surfaces: a part of the surface on the air communication port side, a part of a surface facing the air communication port, and a surface connecting these surfaces. Wherein the ink is held in a state where more ink is distributed in a region near the ink supply port than in a region near the non-contact portion space portion. 7. A protruding portion provided at a rear portion of a space for integrating the ink jet head with an ink container and having the air communication port formed therein. 7. An atmospheric pressure supply space for the entire thickness of the porous body is formed.
Item 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to item 1. 8. The discharge energy generating means is a thermal energy generating means, and the means for supplying an electric signal includes:
8. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a recording signal is generated by supplying a drive signal for causing film boiling in the ink. 9. An ink container having an air communication port and an ink supply port for supplying ink to an ink jet head at different positions, and one for an ink container filled with a porous body for storing ink. An ink jet head formed in a body shape, comprising an ejection unit for ejecting ink by ejection energy generation means provided in a liquid passage, and receiving a predetermined electric signal and operating the ejection energy generation means. Using the rear part of the space for integrating the ink container of the ink jet head, forming a projecting portion for the air communication port there, and hollowing out the inside of this projecting portion,
Atmospheric pressure supply space for the entire thickness of the porous body is formed, and more ink is held in the ink supply port vicinity area than in the vicinity area of the atmospheric pressure supply space part. An ink jet head characterized by the following. 10. The ink filling method according to claim 1, wherein the step of suctioning and removing the ink comprises suctioning and removing the ink from the atmosphere communication port with the ink discharge section closed. 11. The ink filling method according to claim 1, wherein said ink suction removing step suctions and removes ink from an ink discharge section with an air communication port opened.